Many venues, such as educational and entertainment halls, use advanced audio and video (“AV”) equipment during routine functions and business. For example, a banquet hall may have a complete sound system to which it allows visiting musical bands or DJs to connect microphones, stereo systems or other equipment. A college lecture hall may have a full video system, to which it allows professors to connect laptop computers, DVD players or other equipment. Likewise, a community center or exhibition hall may have a full video or sound system, to which traveling shows may connect microphones or other electrical and/or electronic equipment.
When a visitor to a venue desires to use his own AV equipment, many cables and wires may be required. As used in this document, the terms “cables”, “wires” and “cords” are interchangeable; “permanent” refers to cables, wires or cords that have previously been installed into the floor by the venue, whether or not removable and replaceable, and “temporary” refers to cables, wires or cords that are stored at the facility or brought by visitors (e.g., by a visiting band, DJ, etc.). For example, a professor using a laptop computer in a lecture hall may be required to use a power cord, a high-speed internet cable, and an HDMI cable. A band in a banquet hall may require the use of multiple power cords and multiple audio cables. In the prior art, these and other various cords are sometimes laid across the floor in order to be connected to their appropriate power/signal receptacles located on a nearby wall, possibly with duct or electrical tape utilized to keep the cords from moving across the floor. However, these cords represent a danger to anyone traversing the floor. While students sitting in a lecture hall might not be at risk of tripping over these cords and cables, the same cannot be said of wedding attendees who are dancing across a dance floor.
More commonly used in the prior art are floor boxes that are placed into the floor in order to centralize the location of where connections of cords and cables attach to receptacles; however, all the prior art lacks important features that are part of the present invention.
For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,350,884 to Littrell teaches an exhibition hall electrical floor box which includes a housing having a plurality of chambers, each chamber accommodating a particular type of electrical connection. However, Littrell does not disclose that the chambers can be rearranged, or that the chambers can accommodate various types of connections.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,468,908 to Arthur et al. describes a floor box for use with in-floor service distribution systems. However, Arthur et al. does not teach that different types of cables and wires can easily be accommodated.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,274,809 to Pudims et al. discloses an electrical floor box having more than four outlets around a central access area. However, Pudims et al. does not describe an electrical floor box that can, by design, be easily internally rearranged to accommodate different types of temporary or permanent cables or wires.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,796,037 to Young et al. teaches an electrical floor box that provides connections to one or more in-floor service distribution systems and which includes lower and upper portions. However, Young et al. does not disclose an electrical floor box that can, by design, be easily internally rearranged to accommodate different types of temporary or permanent cables or wires.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,395,978 to Whitehead et al. describes an in-floor electrical outlet box which selectively supports power, data and communication wires. However, Whitehead et al. does not teach an electrical floor box that can, by design, be easily internally rearranged to accommodate different types of temporary or permanent cables or wires.